Torque reaction constant tension winder



Jan. 2, 1968 BALL ET AL 3,360,837

TORQUE REACTION CONSTANT TENSION WINDER Filed Dec. 20, 1965 5Sheets-Sheet 1 GAINES BALL Y JACK c. GASKINS ATTORNEYS Jan. 2, 1968 BALLET Al. 3,360,837

TORQUE REACTION CONSTANT TENSION WINDER Filed Dec. 20, 1965 5Sheets-Sheet 2 VOLTAGE SOURCE FIG. 5

INVENTORS GAINES L. BALL JACK C. GASKINS Jan. 2, 1968 BALLETA'L3,360,837

TORQUE REACTION CONSTANT TENSION WINDER ATTORNEYS United States Patent3,360,837 TGRQUE REACTION CONSTANT TENSION WINDER Gaines L. Bail, WestPoint, Ga, and Jack C. Gaskins, Lanett, Aian, assignors to Batson-CookCompany, West ioint, Ga., a corporation of Georgia Filed Dec. 20, 1965,Ser. No. 515,007 9 Claims. (CI. 2836) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Atorque responsive speed change control for changing the rotational speedof a driven shaft with respect to a constant speed drive shaft includinga variable speed transmission connecting the drive shaft with the drivenshaft, and a torque control means for selectively adjusting the variablespeed transmission in response to changes in torque applied to thedriven shaft.

Disclosure This invention relates generally to a tension control devicefor a winding or unwinding machine, and more particularly to a torquereaction tension control device wherein tension is controlled through atorque control means external of the main drive means of the winding orunwinding machine.

In the winding or unwinding of a Web of material such as warp threadsfor use in a loom on a loom beam, it is desirable that constant tens-ionbe maintained in the web at all times during the winding or unwinding ofthe Web on the beam. This means that the torque applied to the beam mustvary as the diameter of the wound web on the beam increases. Morespecifically, the torque applied to the drive spindle of the beam mustincrease in direct proportion to the increase in diameter of the woundweb if a constant tension in the web is to be maintained.

Prior art devices have accomplished this result by driving the feedrolls over which the web passes at a constant speed of rotation andinterposing between the constant speed drive and the drive spindle forthe beam, a means for selectively varying the speed of rotation of thebeam. This is usually eifectuated by using an infinitely variableadjustable speed transmission, the output speed of which is usuallycontrolled by a clutch and differential control arrangement.

The clutch characteristically has clutch elements which slip withrespect to each other as the diameter of the wound web increases which,in turn, manipulates the differential to adjust the output speed of thetransmission to maintain constant tension in the web as it is wound.Since most of these control arrangements have had the clutch located inthe main drive of the winding or unwinding machine, the control meanshas to transmit the entire power load to the beam upon which the web iswound. This has created extreme maintenance problems since the clutchelements deteriorate so rapidly that almost constant attention isrequired.

Since prior control means has been almost totally mechanically and iscomprised of unreliable elements, the incidence of mechanical adjustmentand failure is high. Since prior art machines must be operating beforethe output speed of the transmission can be changed by the control meansto reset the transmission to start a new beam, this resetting of theoutput speed of the transmission must be done either at the beginning orend of the winding of a beam. This results in the tension maintained inthe web not being constant at all times.

Often it is necessary to stop winding machines in the middle of windinga beam in order to make adjustments. Prior art machines using the clutchand differential control arrangement have not been able to maintainproper stalled tension in the web being wound on the beam while themachine is stopped. This has resulted in a section of the web beingrelaxed and being wound under a different tension when the machine hasbeen stopped during the winding thereof. This frequently causes problemsin a subsequent weaving operation.

The invention disclosed herein overcomes these and other problemsassociated with prior art devices in that a torque motor and planetarygear transmission arrangement control the output speed of a variablespeed transmission so that tension in a web being wound or unwound ismaintained constant. The torque mo-tor is located externally of the maindrive of the winding or unwinding machine and the main drive power istransmitted through the planetary transmission. The planetarytransmission acts as a reaction element which senses the need for achange in the output speed of the variable speed transmission tomaintain constant tension in the web being wound and acts through thetorque motor to change the output speed of the transmission so that thetension in the web is maintained constant.

Since the torque motor has substantially no wearing parts, maintenanceproblems are practically eleminated. Moreover, the tension maintained inthe web may be easily adjusted simply by adjustments in the torque motorcircuit so as to increase or decrease the torque exerted by the torquemotor.

As each beam on the beam winder becomes filled, it is necessary that thetransmission be reset so that proper tension will be applied to the webat the beginning of the winding of the next beam. This can be donesimply by energizing the torque motor to reset the transmission for theproper output speed to maintain constant tension in the web when thenext beam is placed on the drive spindle and the winding operation isbegun. Therefore, it will be noted that the entire web is wound on thebeam at constant tension.

When it is necessary to stop the winding machine with a partially filledbeam thereon so that certain operating adjustments may be made, thetorque motor drives the variable speed transmission through theplanetary transmission so that the proper tension is maintained in theweb being wound on the beam even though the main drive is stopped.Therefore, the web material is not relaxed and will continue to be woundat constant tension when the machine is restarted.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention willbecome more clearly understood upon consideration of the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings wherein like characters ofreference designate corresponding parts throughout and in which:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the torque reaction beam drive usedin connection with the invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the invention taken aolng line 33 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the invention taken along line 4-4of FIG. 1; and,

FIG. 5 is a control circuit for use with a shunt torque motor in thepresent invention.

These figures and the following detailed description disclose onespecific embodiment of the invention; however, it is to be understoodthat the inventive concept disclosed herein is not limited to thisspecific embodiment, since the invention may be embodied in otherspecific forms.

Referring to FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, it will be seen that the apparatus of theinvention comprises generally a support base 10 carrying a main driveunit 11 and a torque reaction beam drive 12 thereon. The support base 10also carries a feed roll 14 and a beam thereon. The main drive unit 11directly drives the feed roll 14 and indirectly drives the beam 15through the torque reaction beam drive 12.

The support base 10 comprises a pair of upstanding sides 16 spaced apartby a plurality of I-beams 18 extending therebetween. The I-beams 18serve as a mounting base for support plates 19 and 20 which carry themain drive unit 11 and the torque reaction beam drive 12 respectively.The upstanding sides 16 have appropriate apertures and bearing mountingstherein to receive shafts and the like, as will be explained later.

The main drive unit 11 comprises a drive motor 21 fixedly carried by thesupport plate 19 and a transversely extending drive shaft 22. The driveshaft 22 is spaced from the motor 21 and is rotatably journaled at oneend in one of the sides 16. The drive shaft 22 is journaled intermediateits ends at the bearing 24 and has its other end carried by the torquereaction beam drive 12 as will be explained hereinafter. A main drive 25connects the output shaft of the motor and drive shaft 22 and a feedroll drive connects the end of the drive shaft 22 journaled in the side16 to the feed roll 14. The drive motor 21 is an adjustable speed motorof conventional design and has a substantially constant speed output ateach selected setting. Therefore, once an output speed of the motor 21is selected, it will be seen that the feed roll 14 is driven at asubstantially constant speed through the drive train connecting it tothe motor 21.

The torque reaction beam drive 12 comprises a variable speedtransmission 32 mounted on the support plate 20 as well as a reactionelement 34 and a torque motor 35 also mounted on the support plate 29.The variable speed transmission 32 is of conventional type and has ahousing 42 with a pair of variable pitch pulleys 36 therein whichoperate in conjunction with a belt or chain 38 to selectively change thespeed of rotation of an output shaft 39 with respect to an input shaft40. The input shaft 40 is driven by the output of the reaction element34 and the output shaft 39 drives the beam 15 through a chain or beltdrive 56. A slidable cup 41 which is used to change the pitch of thepulleys 36 is slidably carried in the transmission housing 42 and ispositioned by a threaded rod 44 rotatably mounted in the housing 42.Therefore, by rotating the threaded rod 44, it can be seen that theoutput speed of the transmission will be varied with respect to theinput speed to the transmission.

The reaction element 34 is a conventional planetary transmission havingthe usual three rotatable elements arranged so that the torque on allthree elements are of a fixed ratio to one another. For the purpose ofthis description, however, we will be concerned primarily with arotatable housing 45, an input shaft 52, and an output shaft 54 of theelement 34. The element 34 serves to connect the input shaft 40 of thevariable speed transmission 32 to the drive shaft 22 driven by the drivemotor 21. It will be seen that if the housing 45 of the reaction element34 is held stationary, the input shaft 40 will be driven at asubstantially constant speed by the drive shaft 22. It will also be seenthat if the housing 45 of the reaction element 34 is released, andassuming that there is a frictional drag on the input shaft 40, thehousing 45 will rotate and the input shaft 40 will remain stationary.Therefore, the amount of power transmitted through the reaction element34 will be dependent on the amount of torque exerted on the housing 45in a rotational direction opposite to that in which the housing 45 tendsto rotate.

A reaction sprocket 46 is provided around the housing 45 and hasassociated therewith a torque chain 48 for supplying torque to limit therotation of the housing 45. The torque motor 35 is connected to thetorque chain 48 through a sprocket 49 so that when the torque motor 35applies a torque on the housing 45 opposite to that in which it istending to rotate, as will be explained hereinafter, a constant poweroutput from the reaction element 34 will be attained. An adjusting chain50 is also connected to the torque motor 35 and is connected to asprocket 51 associated with one extending end of threaded rod 44.Therefore, if the housing 45 of the reaction element 34 rotates, theadjusting rod 44 of the variable speed transmission also rotates. Sincethe power for winding the beam is supplied by the main drive motor 21and the torque motor 35 controls the torque transmitted through thetorque reaction element 34, it is apparent that a small torque motor cancontrol the power of a relative high power transmission since a largemechanical advantage can be easily attained with this arrangement.

The feed roll 14 is of conventional design and has associated therewitha pair of freely rotatable idler rolls 58 which force the web 13 of thewarp threads to conform with the feed roll 14. The beam 15 is also ofconventional design and is mounted in conventional manner on the supportbase 10.

The torque motor 35 is a shunt type DC motor and is connected in serieswith a rheostat R as shown in FIG. 5 so that the torque developed by themotor 35 can be adjusted. The entire circuit is connected to aconvenient source of direct current when in use. It is to be understood,however, that an alternating current motor or an air or hydrauliccontrol system may be used for this operation.

Operation In operation it will be seen that the web 13 is wound upon thebeam 15 after passage over the feed roll 14, The main drive motor 21rotates the drive shaft 22 and the feed roll 14 through the feed rolldrive shaft 29 at a substantially constant speed. The drive shaft 22also drives the input shaft 40 of the variable speed transmission 32through the reaction element 34. The variable speed transmission 32drives the output shaft 39 and a beam drive spindle 55 through a chaindrive 56.

If the tension in the web 13 extending between the feed roll 14 and thebeam 15 is to remain constant, the rotational speed of the beam 15 mustbe decreased as the diameter of the Wound web 13 on the beam 15increases. This is because the power through the torque reaction beamdrive 12 must remain constant.

When the diameter of the wound web 13 on the beam 15 increases, areaction torque is exerted on the housing 45 of the reaction element 34.Since this torque cannot be greater than that selectively exerted on thehousing 45 by the torque motor 35, the housing 45 will rotate in adirection opposite to that in which the motor 35 is tending to rotatethe housing 45.

As the housing 45 rotates, the adjustment chain 50 rotates the threadedrod 44. This serves to change the pitch of the pulleys 36 so that theoutput shaft 39 speed is reduced and the surface speed of the take-upbeam 15 is synchronized with the surface speed of the feed roll 14.Since the beam 15 is increasing in diameter with every revolution, thehousing 45 of the element 34, torque motor 35 and adjusting rod 44 willrotate very slowly so that the surface speed of the beam 15 is keptequal to the surface speed of the feed roll 14.

It will also be seen that the beam drive 12 will compensate for adecrease in tension in the web 13 as well as an increase in tension inthe web 13 so that the tension will remain constant in all events. Itwill also be noted that the device may easily be adapted to an unwindingmachine.

By readjusting the rheostat R, it will be seen that the tension in theWeb 13 between the feed roll 14 and beam 15 will be changed inaccordance therewith. Therefore, the tension in the Web 13 may be easilyvaried, even While the winder is in operation.

When the beam 15 has been filled with the wound web 13, the Winder isstopped and the control motor 35 turned off. The wound beam 15 isremoved to be replaced by empty beam 15. While this is being done, thetorque con;

trol motor 35 is turned on. Since there is no resistance at the beamdrive shaft 55, the torque motor 35 will drive the transmission and theadjusting screw 44 so as to shift the variable pitch pulleys 36 to theirinitial or starting position.

If the drive motor 21 must be stopped so that adjustments may be made inthe machine, it will be seen that the torque motor 35 is left switchedon and will drive the housing 45 of the reaction element 34 so as todrive the input shaft 40 of the variable speed transmission 32 and drivethe beam drive spindle 55 until proper tension is achieved in the web 13being wound on the beam 15. It is also noted that the same mechanism maybe used as an unwinder for beams, simply by reversing the rotationaldirection of the motor 21. Therefore, it will be seen that the reactionbeam drive 12 serves to isolate that portion of the Web 13 between thefeed roll 14 and the beam 15 and maintain a constant tension therein atall times.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many variations maybe made in the embodiments chosen for the purpose of illustrating thepresent invention Without departing from the scope thereof as defined bythe appended claims.

What is claimed as invention is:

1. A torque responsive speed change for changing the rotational speed ofa driven shaft including:

a constant speed shaft; and

torque controlled means connecting said constant speed shaft and saiddriven shaft, said torque controlled means being effective to transmit asubstantially constant power from said constant speed shaft to saiddriven shaft by varying the speed of said driven shaft in accordancewith the torque exerted by said driven shaft on said torque controlledmeans,

said torque controlled means including a variable speed transmissionhaving an input shaft, an output shaft, 21 speed changing mechanism, andan adjusting means for manipulating said speed changing mechanism, saidadjusting means being torque controlled and responsive to changes intorque applied to said driven shaft.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said torque controlled meansincludes a reaction element having a housing, a driven element and adriving element, said driving element positively connected to saidconstant speed shaft and said driven element positively connected tosaid input shaft of said variable speed transmission, said housinghaving a torque controlled torque exerted thereon and operativelyconnected to said adjusting means effective to manipulate said adjustingmeans upon movement of said housing.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, including a torque generating torque motorfor exerting a torque on the housing of said reaction element.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein said torque exerted by said motoris selectively adjustable.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein said torque motor is a directcurrent shunt type motor.

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein said torque motor has a controlcircuit including a regulator for controlling the torque exerted on saidhousing of said reaction element by said motor.

7. In a winding device for winding a web onto a loom beam:

(a) constant speed drive means;

(b) feed roll means driven at a constant speed by said drive means;

(c) a loom beam upon which the web is to be wound;

(d) a variable speed transmission having an input shaft, an outputshaft, a speed changing mechanism and adjusting means for manipulatingthe speed changing mechanism, said output shaft positively connected tosaid loom beam;

(e) a planetary transmission having a housing, an input shaft and anoutput shaft, said input shaft connected to the constant speed drivemeans and said output shaft connected to said input shaft of saidvariable speed transmission;

(f) electromagnetic torque generating means connected to said housingand said adjusting means, said generating means being effective toselectively supply a torque to said housing and to change said adjustingmeans in response to movements of said housing.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein said torque generating means iseffective to return said adjusting means of said variable speedtransmission to a predetermined position when said web is severed andsaid constant speed drive means is stopped.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein said torque generating meanscomprises an electromagnetic direct current shunt type motor.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,608,741 9/1952 Reeves 28-362,819,512 1/1958 Reeder 2836 3,015,871 1/1962 Noe 28-36 LOUIS K.RIMRODT, Primary Examiner.

